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February 2006

February 4, 2006

Indian military arms manufacture increasing

An article from newkerala.com has described the successful design, later modification and then sale of 30,000 army rifles by state-owned arms factories based in Tamil Nadu.

The Indian Defence Research and Development Organization, acting under the Ministry of Defence, developed a group of its own style of military arms, and, in this latest deal, the carbine version of the rifle was modified and then approved by the Indian Government for its own paramilitary use. The ordnance factory at Tiruchirpalli has also designed other, heavier military arms including grenade launchers.

This development comes after India has ceased dealing with a South African firm which had previously acted as its supplier, after allegations concerning unauthorized payments.

At the opening of the bi-annual Indian Defence Exposition on February 1st, the Indian Defence Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, urged arms makers from other countries to enter joint military production projects. The event drew over 400 industry participants, with half this number coming from outside the country. India is also relaxing its industry laws and inviting the private sector to take a larger part in munitions manufacture, till now heavily dominated by government.

A recent report from Yahoo News India suggested that According to the US Congressional Research Service, India was the largest arms purchaser among developing nations in 2004, spending $5.7 billion, twice as much as both China and Saudi Arabia. Other sources put its arms budget at a figure considerably higher than this.

India has strong policies of denying firearms to its citizens, and has always taken a strong stand against private gun ownership.

Stabrorek News


February 15, 2005

Call for police to reconsider approach

The UK Telegraph has taken an unusual line in an article calling for a rethink of the approach to the illegal use of guns.

The shooting of several police by criminals in the line of duty has prompted considerably community discussion. The Telegraph says: "The irony of the epidemic of gun crime in Britain is that it comes at a time when those who legally hold firearms are more policed and regulated than ever before."

This is very true. Independent scholars unaffected by anti-gun advocacy have pointed out for many years the ineffectiveness of framing legislation against the law-abiding on the basis that it may somehow go on from there to diminish gun crime. This has never proved to be the case, and despite these facts there is currently a movement sweeping the world where increasing restrictions have been applied in country after country to no good effect. Again, The Telegraph is correct when it says: "The heavy-handed approach many police forces take towards licensed owners contrasts with the increasing, and lethal, incidence of unlicensed ones."

The article goes on to call for a revamp of methods employed by customs to prevent the illegal transfer of guns, and it also suggests that more police resources should be diverted into gleaning intelligence about the black market.

Again, commenting on the amount of police time taken over guns in lawful hands, The Telegraph says: "It might be as well if officers spent less time checking up on licensed gun owners and channelled resources instead into catching unlicensed ones."

In some countries it has become quite fashionable for police to swoop on the homes of legitimate gun owners whose licences have recently expired, and for this or similar, other reason of technical breach confiscate their property. But this kind of activity, as The Telegraph rightly suggests, is not a productive way to manage the actual illegal use of guns by those outside the law.

The Telegraph

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